Tripod mounting for firearms



Oct. 14, 1930. M. DE BOIGNE I TRIPOD MOUNTING FOR FIREARMS Filed Jan.21, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 1 0a. 14, 1930. M, DE BQIGNE 1,778,626

TRIPOD MOUNTING FOR FIREARMS Filed Jan. 21, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N N 0:00000000000000 S QOOOOOOOO'QOOOOO c N 00000000000000 Oct. 14, 1930. M.DE OIGNE TRIPOD MOUNTING FOR FIREARMS Filed Jan. 21, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet5 I I I!" K un Patented Oct. 14-, 1930 MAURICE DE BOIGNE, OF PARIS,FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO SOCIETE ANONYLIE DES ANCIENS ETABLISSEMENTSHOTCI'IKISS &, COMPAGNIE, OF ST. DENIS, SEINE, FRANCE, A JOINT-STOCKCQIKEPANY OF FRANCE TRIPOD MQUNTING FOB FIREARMS Application filedJanuary 21, 1929, Serial No. 334,005, and in France August 31, 1928.

The present invention relates to a tripod mounting for machine-guns orlight guns, possessing great stability and enabling very accurate firingto be achieved.

The mounting comprises, in the usual manner, a head on which thefire-arm can be either directly or indirectly mounted, and a threelegged pyramid supporting the head, and it is essentially characterizedby the fact that the head and the three legs are pivoted on a commonaxis whereby the line of fire of the piece, along which the reactions offire occur, may be brought nearer said axis and, hence, a betterstability obtained.

The centre legend the head are mounted directly on the common axis andcan only rotate in a plane perpendicular to said axis whilst cardanjoints are used in mounting the side legs whereby said legs can not onlyi be moved in planes perpendicular to the common axis but may also bedrawn apart or brought together.

According to an advantageous form of construction, the common pivot axisis constituted by the forks of the cardan joints of the side legs, saidforks being connected together by any suitable means which allow them torotate one relative to the other and on which the head and the centreleg are mounted.

The head can be locked in any given augular position by clamping to thecentre leg sectors which are secured to said head.

The centre leg is connected to each of the side legs by stays fixedlyattached at one of their ends (for example by means of closed ring orloop) to said centre leg whilst the other end may be attached throughthe agency of suitable clamping or hooking means to the correspondingside leg at a variable height which may be different for each of theside legs and adjustment of which enables the angle between said twolegs and, consequently, the inclination to the ground of the commonpivot axis to be varied. Under these circumstances, said axis can bemaintained horizontal whatever the slope of the ground may be.

According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the abovementioned stays are located at a considerable distanc from the commonpivot axis in order to obtain enhanced stability.

The extent to which the two side legs can be drawn apart is limited bystops provided in the cardan joints, said two legs being stayed in closeproximity to their anchoring ends by the supporting tube the length ofwhich is slightly greater than the maximum span between the legs, sothat in the firing position itholds the two legs firmly and resilientlyagainst their respective stops, and drawn apart to the maximum extentwhereby the stability is still further increased.

Said seat supporting tube is permanently fixed to one of the side legs,whilst it can hook on to the other leg in adjust-able manner, so that onclosing up the mounting, said tube can be placed parallel to the threelegs.

Other characteristics and peculiarities of the invention will becomeapparent from the description about to be given with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a tripod mounting in accordance withthe invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof but on a reduced scale.

Fig. 3. is asectional elevation on the line III-III, Fig. 1 illustratingthe pivotal assemblage of the legs and the head of the mounting.

at is an elevational view illustrating the mounting in accordance withthe inven tion in firing position on uneven ground and Fig. shows a forkadapted to receive a trunnion for supporting the fire-amnwhen the latteris used against air-craft.

The mounting in accordance with the invention comprises a head portion 1and a three-legged pyramid constituted by one front leg 2 and two rearlegs 3and 4.

The head 1 includes a. socket 5 accommodating a trunnion for fixing thefire-arm, said trunnion being carried, as is well known, by the fire-armwhich engages, through the medium 0t any suitable projection, in theU-shaped member 6 carried by the traversing slide 7 which can slide overthe sector 8 fitted to the head 1 of the mounting in the usual.

The fire-arm is thus secured directly to tl head 1 of the mounting andfollows it in all its displacements. 1 may rotate about axis 9 rmatcriali ed in a snner to be present described and it may be locked inany do ed angular position by clamping sectors such as 10 secured tosaid head 1301". tion, a ainst the. front leg 2, for example through themedium of shoes 11 actuated by means of a lever nutv 12 screwing on to abolt 13. Said arrangement enables thefirearm to be aimed for elevation.

The ax s 9 about which the head 1 may swivel is likewise the pivot axisof the three legs 2, 3, 4. Said a" 9 is materialized by the male andfcma c -o 1%, of the fork o rear legs, said sockets enga ing one withinthe other whilst being maintained by a screw 16, which however leavesthem free to rotate one relative to the other. The front leg 2 as alsothe head '1 are pivotally mounted directly on the sockets 14 and 15 611the other hand, the rear legs and a are connected to the correspondingforlr 14c or 15 through the medium of stud 1% or 15, said stud formingwith the associated fork a cardan joint enabling not only each-side legto swivel about the axis 9 but likewise enabling said legs to be broughttogether or drawn apart. Moreover, steps such as 14 or 15 limit theextent to ch said legs can be drawn apart.

mounting the head portion and the tlirre legs on a common. axis, thelatter may b brought considerably nearer the line of lire of thelire-arm. that is to sa the line I l n alonp w rich the reactions offireare directed. L this manner the tripod is renderedmore The followingarrangement has been adopted for .inaintaining the three-legged pyramidin any selected position. The front leg 2 is connected to each of therear legs 3 or l oy a stay is or 15. Each of the latter attached to thefront leg 2 by a closed ring whereas its other end may slide over thecorrespon rear leg and be fixed on said at a suitable height by suitablemeans, for example, by means of 17 which is always constrained to slideto the front under v the action of the weight of the mounting and of thellrer well as under the action of the reactions of fire whose tendencyis to cause the fro" leg to swing upv. ds about the 4. 2, said ringbeing maintained at the del 4 sir position by any one of the pegs 18which. prey cut it from sliding forwardly.

To obtain even greater stability, the two rear legs are themselvesstayed by the seat supporting tube 19 which is hooked to the rear leg 4-by means of a closed ring 20 and to the rear leg 3 by of a hook 21. Saidtwo rear legs being opened outin the same plane and being in theirposition of ,sraeae corresponding pegs 18 on the legs 3 maximum stretchlimited by the stops 1 1 and 1-5 provlded on the forks 1e and 15, the

tube 19 which is of slightly greater length tion, the seat supportingtube 19 is'forward of the anchoring ends 22 of the rear legs so that theweight of the titer shall always tend to maintain the front leg on thground.

The mounting in accordance with the invention is used as follows: Whenthe mounting is closed up,'the three legs are laid parallel onealongside the other as also the seat supporting tube 19., the hook 21 ofwhich has been unhoolred from the leg 3. For mounting in firing positionit is only necessary to place the three legs on the ground. The rings 17slide over the rear legs and stop at the first peg 18 (reckoning fromthe top). The book 21 of the tube 19 is next hooked on the rear leg 3.The mounting is then in the raised position with the two rear legs 3 andi lying in the same plane.

If the lower part of each ring 17 be pulled rearwards and upwardssimultaneously, the rings are released from the first pegs 18 and canthen be hooked on to the following pegs. i f e As the rings are broughtnearer the lower ends of the rear legs, the unit is brought into alower'and lower position; Obviously, between the two extreme positions(upper position, firer sitting on the seat and lower position, firerlying. down) any intermediate position may be selected.

The great distance ofthe hooking points of the stays 14- and 15 and ofthe seat supporting tube 19 from the common pivot axis 9, thesatisfactory support always afforded If the rings 17 are both hooked onto and i, the latter are evidently inithe same plane and if the groundis horizontal, the common pivot axis 9 is likewise horizontal. Such isthe case in Fig. 1. On the other hand, when the ground slopesand itisnecessary to bring the pivot axis back to the horizontal,- it is onlynecessary to pass the rings 17 over non-corresponding pegs of the legs 3and i. Said rear legs then assume different inclinations with respect tothe front leg and by suitably choosing the inclination, that is to say,by selecting the hooking peg, the axis 9 may be brought into thehorizontal as desired. This has been illustrated in Fig. 4. As a result,the front leg 2 which is perpendicular to the axis 9 is brought backinto a vertical plane which promotes stability.

This levelling of the axis 9 furthermore enables a sweeping fire to bemade along a horizontal plane; besides, this axis may be given anydesired lateral inclination thus enabling a sweepingfire to be carriedout along a plane at a definite angle with the ground.

A modified form of use of the mounting according to the invention isshown in Fig. 5, in which the fire-arm is not directly mounted on thehead 1, said mounting being obtained, for example, for anti-aircraftfire, through the medium of a trunnion receiving fork 23 of a well-knowntype. This fork comprises a trunnion 24; similar to the trunnion carriedby the fire-arm and which engages, in the same manner, in the socket 5of the head 1. Likewise, this fork is engaged in and maintained by theUshaped member 6 of the traversing slide 7. The fire-arm proper ismounted at the end of the fork by means of a trunnion carrying supportin a well-known manner. The gunmounting, in this case, as previously,permits the common axis 9 to be horizontal.

Obviously, various constructional forms can be given to the device whichhas first been described. F or instance, the stays 14 and 15 could befixed to the rear legs by any device differing from the one shown, forexample, by means of teeth or of clamping sleeves sliding on the saidrear legs. Likewise, the modifications in height of the head relativelyto the ground and the direction given to the pivot of the fire-arm canbe effected concomitantly or separately. Finally, according to uses, theabove described device can be constructed either with one front leg andtwo rear legs, as shown, or with two front legs and one rear leg.

What I claim is:

l. Tripod mounting for fire arms comprising, in combination. a head andthree legs supporting said head, the said head and legs being pivoted ona common axis.

2. Tripod mounting for fire arms comprising, in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, a pin on which thehead and the central leg are directly pivoted and pivotal joints betweensaid pin and said side legs.

3. Tripod mounting for fire arms comprising, in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, a pin on which thehead and the central leg are directly pivoted, and forked pivotal jointsbetween said pin and said side legs, said pin prisingin' combination,ahead, :1 central'leg and two side legs supporting said head, the saidhead and legs being pivoted on a com mon axis, and means for adjustablyclamping the head relatively to the central leg.

6. Tripod mounting for fire arms, compris ing, in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, the said head andlegs being pivoted on a common axis, and clamping sectors on said headadapted to be clamped against the central leg.

7. Tripod mounting for fire arms comprising, in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, the said head andsaid legs being pivoted on a common axis, stays connecting the centralleg to both side legs, each stay being secured to the central leg at afixed point, and means for securing each stay on the respective legs atvariable heights.

8. Tripod mounting for fire arms comprising in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, two forked pivotaljoints on the two side legs, a pin formed by the forks of each pivotaljoint, said head and said central leg being directly pivoted on saidpin. and a lug on each of said side legs for limiting the outward movement of said side legs.

9. Tripod mounting for fire arms compris ing, in combination, a head, acentral leg and two side legs supporting said head, two forked pivotaljoints on the two side legs, a pin formed by the forks of each pivotaljoint, said head and said central leg being directly pivoted on saidpin, a lug on each of said side legs for limiting the outward movementof said side legs. and a seat sup porting tube interconnecting the twoside legs in close proximity to their anchoring ends.

10. Tripod mounting for fire arms CUiIlprising, in combination, a head,a central leg and two side legs suppo 'ting said head, two forkedpivotal joints on the two side legs, a pin formed by the forks of eachpivotal joint, said head and said central leg being directly pivot-ed onsaid pin, a lug on each of said side legs for limiting the out wardmovement of said side legs, stays connecting the central leg to bothside legs, each stay being secured to the central log at :1 fixed point,means for securing each stay on the, respective side leg at variableinsights, and a seat supporting tnloe interconnecting the two side legsin close proximity to their anchoring ends, said ,tube being slightllonger than the maxi n inn stretching distance of the side legs andbeing; pern anently iv ed to one of the side legs whilst it isreniova lyfixed to the other side leg.

11. Tripod mounting for lire arms, comprising in con'lhination, a head,a central leg and two side legs supporting said head, a commonpin forsaid head and said pin consisting in two members rotatably mounted onewithin the other and including forked extensions, and pins carried bysaid forked extensions and on which said side le s are pivotally mountedthe'head and central leg being directly pivoted on said ooinnion pin;

12. Tripod mounting for fire-arms, comprising in combination, a head,three legs supporting said head, common pin on which said legs and headare mounted, and

pivotal joints between two of said legs and said common pin forpermitting, in cooperation with said common pin, rotation of eaeh ofsaid two legs about two different axes.

MAURICE DE BOIGNE.

